I’m Stuck and I Can’t Get Out

October 5, 2010

“Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It’s a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write.”

–Paul Rudnick, American playwright, screenwriter and novelist

It’s 1:43 p.m. I have been in my studio this morning since 8:15 with one thing in mind – “today I will blog”.

Since 8:15, I have organized a cabinet, opened a UPS delivery, had breakfast, googled to find quotes on ‘silence’, ‘fear’, ‘writer’s block’, ‘writer’s quotes’ and ‘friendship’. I researched the lyrics to Frankie Valli’s “Silence is Golden”, only to find out they were very depressing, I paid bills via Bill Pay, read all of the beautiful poems from A to Z on StoryPeople, and learned that Lisa Rinna has had upper lip reduction surgery. All, mind you, with the intention of writing this blog.

I’m stuck. Plain and simple. I normally start my day reading the blogs of other incredible women who so candidly share their thoughts, fears, challenges and great loves. My favorite isJayme who raises chickens in Indiana, who is an extraordinary gardener and has the power with words to make me laugh until my stomach hurts and sometimes cry through several tissues. Another I know only as Flower Patch Farmgirl shares heartfelt stories of life on her little farm with her family and with her words can magically bring me back to my childhood and family and the Midwest that I often miss so much.

Mariais a huge inspiration. She runs her own personal styling service business while keeping up with her two little ones, all the while blogging about the latest trends and inspiring us with the most amazing outfits. And this lady? She is my champion. She also shares stories of her beautiful family, but in such a light hearted and funny way. Always the brazen one, she stepped out of her comfort zone and had her nose pierced, promising the girls in the tattoo parlor (in Kauai where they were vacationing) she wouldn’t swim for 2 weeks or get it wet. Almost immediately she challenged her little boy’s dare on a rope swing over the river, and let’s just say her pretty little sun dress went down with the diamond chip in her nose.

I digress. I have a tendency to face challenges in two ways: first, I research whatever it is to death; second, I compare myself with everyone else doing it. Since my last blog I have done the research: when to blog, do’s and don’ts of blogging, key words. I have collected and keenly organized the most helpful tips and read the best of the best daily. It always comes down to this one question in my mind – “Who cares what I have to say?”. And that’s it.

So, this may or may not be my last blog entry. If I do write again, it won’t be the result of me doing any more research, because I’m giving myself peace from that. It will be because I want to. And that’s it. Thanks for listening.

Oh, and since I did the research, thought you might enjoy these:

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.”

– Margaret Atwood, poet, novelist, literary critic,

essayist and environmental activist

“If you keep your mouth shut you will never put your foot in it“.

– Austin O’Malley, physician, humorist

“and by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

– Sylvia Plath, poet, novelist and short story writer

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

– Gene Fowler, journalist, author and dramatist

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

– Octavia Butler, science fiction writer

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others

to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

– Winnie the Pooh, one very bright fictional bear

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Comments

Hi Poppy, I just found your blog recently and I for one hope you continue to blog. I know exactly how you feel with this post. I too read those wonderful bloggers listed above and love them and I read your blog too and love it. If you have a block–just skip it–your inspiration will come. Life will inspire you. Don’t quit. I purposely haven’t read any of the “how to blog” stuff as I am afraid it would make e over think things. However–I love the quotes above…they are great!Amy at Verde Farm

Oh how I know this feeling! Living on a little farm in the middle of nowhere (rural Kansas) it’s sometimes very hard to find something to blog about. However…if I had thought too much about it I probably never would have started this blog. Who’d have thought that anyone would be interested in what I had to say! I’m happy to say that there are some very bored people out there that seem to be desperate for entertainment because I actually have some followers. Who’d have thought. Anyway Poppy I hope you keep on Blogging…don’t analyze too much and just write about your life and what ever makes you happy or sad. People will read it and some will write back. Relax and have fun! Maura

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I'm Kimberly, a girl from the midwest who landed in a little cottage in northern California. I dream of having chickens and enough full sun to grow hollyhocks along a picket fence. Foodie, gardener, frustrated writer, aspiring photographer.

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